


Cursed

by Josh Washington (CaptainSunder)



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Broken Bones, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hiking, Light Angst, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 23:32:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13110831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSunder/pseuds/Josh%20Washington
Summary: “Face it, man,” Chris said, as they sat in a colorfully decorated waiting room while Mike was being seen to. “It's a fact of life, like the sky is blue, or Mike’s a douche, except when saving dogs. You are cursed. Everyone you hang out with has broken some part of their body.”"Not everybody."(Of course, that person then breaks a bone in the middle of saying something important.)





	Cursed

**Author's Note:**

> I am the secret santa for [moonwhy](moonwhy.tumblr.com) for the 2017 Until Dawn Secret Santa! This has been a pleasure to work on, and I hope they enjoy this fic! Come find me over on [Until-Dong](until-dong.tumblr.com)!

Josh was not superstitious, but he was cursed, and he knew this for a fact. Actually, everyone knew this, because Chris, traitor that he was, was the first to realize and made sure to tell everyone.

“Just so they know what they're getting into,” Chris would say, as Josh punched his shoulder.

It started, of course, with Hannah and Beth. When they were 11 and he was 13, the Washingtons went up to blackwood mountain for their summer vacation. Josh took them out and showed them how to snowboard and ski, and when he finally allowed that they could try the slope on their own, Beth crashed into a tree and Hannah tripped over her skiis trying to get to her. Beth broke her left hand and Hannah broke her right wrist.

When he and Chris tried out parkour after too many hours watching youtube videos, and too few hours doing any kind of physical exercise otherwise, Chris broke his ankle when he attempted to jump from Josh’s bedroom window to the top of the garage, and missed. Josh will not admit to any fault in that. He may have told Chris he was taking a video on his phone that he was going to send to ashley, but Chris is the one who jumped.

Ashley is when Chris first joked about it. She was giving Josh a ride when a truck rear-ended them at a stoplight. Josh, who was not wearing a seatbelt, got away with bruised arms when he threw his hands up and the airbag deployed. Ashley, who was wearing a seatbelt, got a dislocated clavicle when the seatbelt locked, and a broken nose when the airbag suckerpunched her.

“Damn Josh, your sisters, me, and Ash? That's some bad juju, dude.”

The rest followed in short order. Jess broke her foot at cheer practice when Josh was waiting for her in the stands. Matt broke some ribs during a football game that Josh was the only one who could make it to. Emily broke two fingers in a slamming door when Josh went shopping with her. Mike broke his wrist when, (and Josh was absolutely disgusted to admit this, and will maintain Mike was simply beating his meat too hard the night before), he heroically saved a dog from being hit by a car when they were waiting for their friends to meet them.

“Face it, man,” Chris said, as they sat in a colorfully decorated waiting room while Mike was being seen to. “It's a fact of life, like the sky is blue, or Mike’s a douche, except when saving dogs--”

“You mean beating off too much.”

“You are cursed. Everyone you hang out with has broken some part of their body.”

Josh shrugged, watching as Sam watched the passing nurses, her ponytail coming loose from how many times she'd tried to run her hands through her hair.

“Not everyone.”

-

“Josh, I need a huge favour,” Sam said, smiling innocently and leaning against his bedroom’s door frame.

Josh looked up, palms suddenly sweaty, undoubtedly from the disease he'd contracted where he spontaneously broke into a cold sweat, the symptoms of which often manifested when Sam happened to be around. It was a terrible disease. To cover, he opened his laptop and pulled it on top of his psychology book, and tried to look busy.

“Geez, Sammy, heard of knocking? I could have been changing,” Josh said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Her smile became a little more real, and she laughed. “I take it you often change with your door wide open then?”

“Hey, I'm just trying to teach you some manners. It's not my fault you were raised by wolves!”

Sam shook her head, and said, “I’ll try to keep that in mind, if you'll do this favor for me first.”

Josh sat up a little straighter. “Depends on the favor. Cause I’m sorry, you’re wonderful,” his face only heated slightly saying that out loud, “and I know you’re saving animals from mistreatment, or the environment, or whatever--but I am not trying anything you or Hannah have made. I need protein in my diet. Meat. Please keep your bean burgers to yourself, thanks.”

She took his ribbing in the spirit it was meant, and grinned widely, coming over to plop onto the edge of his bed. “Don’t worry, I’m not wasting anymore soy on you, meat boy. Beth and I were gonna go hiking tomorrow, but she’s got some horse riding thing she forgot about. I’d still like to go, but I need a partner.”

Josh couldn’t remember what horse riding thing Beth had, because the minty scent of Sam’s shampoo had reached him, and his knee was practically touching her back. He resisted the urge to nudge it closer, and instead cleared his suddenly dry throat and opened a word document on his laptop.

“Why uh, why do you need a partner?” If his voice was just the tiniest bit strangled, Sam thankfully didn’t appear to notice.

“Duh, hiking is dangerous alone. You should always hike with at least one other person, in case one of you gets hurt, or falls, or something else happens.”

Josh, personally, highly doubted that Sam needed any kind of hiking partner, as she was the epitome of safety. If anything, whoever she went with was probably the one in need of a partner. Bear Grylls didn’t have shit on Sam Giddings as far as he was concerned.

Also, hiking wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his Saturday, and if anyone else had asked, including Chris and _especially_ Mike, Josh would have told them to fuck off immediately. But here was Sam, who must have seen some of his reluctance on his face, because she was now giving him the most exaggerated pouty face. Her lips were pulled into a deep frown, her bottom lip stuck out, and she looked at him out from under her lashes, eyes wide and pleading.

It was terribly unflattering, but at the same time Josh felt his lips twitching, and he wanted to bury his face in his hands to hide his eyes. She was too cute. She had no idea he was wrapped around her little finger.

“Fine,” he sighed loudly, throwing his hands up. “Fine, just quit giving me that look.”

Instantly, Sam’s pout disappeared. “Thank you so much, Josh!” She twisted around and threw her arms around him, carefully avoiding the laptop. He hesitantly put one hand on her back, patting lightly. Her soft hair brushed his cheek.

“I’ll pick you up at 6, so make sure you’re ready,” she spoke quickly, finally releasing him and getting up. “I’ve already got all the supplies we’ll need, just make sure you wear something appropriate for hiking, like sturdy shoes. Good night!”

Before Josh could blink, she was out the door, and he was still working through what she’d told him.

“Wait. You mean 6am!?”

-

He had to admit, hiking wasn’t as bad as he feared. Okay, sure, the bugs were already awake and swarming him; he was hot and sweaty and his legs were sore; his shoes hurt his feet, cause he’d had to borrow some boots from his dad and his dad was half a size smaller than him; and he was literally dying of hunger.

But, the air was clear and there was a nice breeze. Josh wasn’t much into nature, but he could appreciate the beauty of the woods and mountain as they followed the trail, especially if he thought about it in terms of scenery shots in movies. And it also didn’t hurt that his enthusiasm for the experience was buoyed by his hiking partner.

Thankfully the heat hid the sweat of his terrible disease that manifested whenever Sam was around, because it would have been out in full force today. She was excited and touchy, holding or touching his arm often and telling him about the plants they passed, or the animal tracks they saw, or her previous hiking experiences. The gray tanktop she wore, with a flannel shirt tied around her waist, khaki shorts that just reached her knee, and big brown hiking boots, were very flattering. In comparison, Josh felt like a lumbering idiot in his jeans, t-shirt, and too small boots. The only hiking appropriate equipment he had was the backpack Beth had let him borrow.

Sam had packed both of them with enough supplies to last them three days, and not just a single day of hiking. There were energy bars, bottles of water, a blanket for each of them, two flashlights and extra batteries, a map, walkie talkies, first aid kits, and probably some other junk. It was a bit excessive in Josh’s opinion, but then again, he wasn’t Bear Grylls reborn.

As they walked along a small ridge, that was maybe an 8 foot drop on their left, cordoned off by an old wooden fence, Josh paused and tugged on her backpack to grab her attention. Sam joined him at the fence, and they looked out at the woods, the light birdsong and general woodsy sounds their only company.

It was nearly time for him to take his medication, he realized with a start. He looked at Sam out of the corner of his eye, and wondered how he was gonna get away with that without her noticing.

“It’s so beautiful out here,” she said, sighing deeply and leaning her hip against the fence so she was partially angled toward him. “I could just stay out here forever, you know?”

He absolutely did not know. It was nice, but there’s no way he could go more than a day without civilized things, like cell phone reception and netflix.

As if sensing his thoughts, she said, “I know it’s no John Wayne movie, but thanks for coming with me. It’s nice to get away from things for a while, and just exist. No pressure, or deadlines. Just us and nature.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “It’s not so bad. I do have to resist checking my phone every 5 seconds, but it’s kind of nice knowing that we’re not gonna be interrupted by something stupid, like Mike absolutely needing us to help him pick out a birthday present for Jess or something.”

Sam nodded and turned, leaning on the fence with her back and tugging on Josh’s arm lightly, beckoning him to stand in front of her. When he was in place, she let go, placing her hands on the fence and seemingly trying to lean further away, despite how she’d maneuvered him closer.

“So, Josh, I actually wanted to tell you something. I might have lied to you,” she said, smiling slightly but looking determinedly at their nearly touching boots. “Beth didn’t really have a horse riding thing to go to.”

After a moment of silence, in which she said nothing else and refused to meet his eye, Josh gasped. “Oh my god. I can’t believe you lied to me like that! How could you?”

She looked up at his gasp, and some of the tension bled out of her shoulders as she saw his raised eyebrow and shit-eating smile. She shoved at his shoulder playfully.

“Sorry for lying, but that’s not what I’m trying to say. I just wanted to go somewhere nice and relaxing for this. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

But again she lapsed into silence, and Josh’s throat was so tight all of a sudden. He could honestly think of a million possibilities that weren’t what he wanted to hear. Someone was dying. Someone had cancer. She was moving. She had cancer. She was dying. She hated him and this was where she was going to kill him and dump his body. She was getting married to Beth, or worse, _Mike_ , and wanted to invite him to her wedding. She knew he took pills and saw a therapist.

Even more outlandish scenarios raced through his mind as he looked at her downturned face, and he felt he could barely speak.

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said, and as she finally looked up at him, a sound like a thundercrack cut the air.

Sam jerked, and for a wild moment Josh thought she’d been shot. Then she began to fall back. Josh saw the fence going too. Saw the broken jagged post ends. Reached for Sam, who was reaching back. His fingers caught a sleeve of the flannel shirt tied around her waist. Then her full weight pulled it taut, pulled it loose, and she dropped.

His heart fell into his stomach as she fell out of sight.

“Sam!” he screamed.

He heard her hit the ground before he could overcome his shock, her flannel shirt still clutched tightly in a white-knuckled grip. When he leaned over the edge of the ridge, he saw Sam at the bottom, holding her leg, making little noises of pain. Or loud, if he could hear them from eight feet up.

“Sam!” His voice was sheer panic as he called, “Sam! Are you okay?”

“I-I think my leg’s broken.” Her voice was tiny, barely audible as she rocked slightly in pain.

“Hold on, Sam! I’m coming!”

“No!” she cried, voice strained nearly to breaking. “Do not come down here, Josh! Go back down the trail until you have reception and call for help. If you come down h-here, we might get lost and not be able to get back up!”

While he had to concede in the sensibility of the plan, he absolutely did not want to leave her alone down there.

“I don’t want to leave you behind!”

“Josh Washington!” Sam seemed to gather up every ounce of disapproval in her tiny body and inject it into his name. “You better not come down here! Go get help. It’s the best way, trust me.”

He wavered for a moment, trying to think of some other way, but she was right. If they both got lost because he went down there and they couldn’t find their way back, they were both fucked. Josh looked around desperately, scrabbling for something, before snapping his fingers and praising Sam for her over-preparedness. He slung his backpack to the dirt and dug through it, throwing stuff haphazardly to the ground until he found what he was looking for.

“Hey, Sam!” he called, waving one of the walkie talkies for her to see. “Use your walky talky so we can keep in contact!”

She slowly pulled her backpack off, rummaging around. Josh turned his on, and waited until the static cleared into her voice, sounding tearful but strong.

“Can you hear me? Over.”

“I hear you, Sammy,” he breathed, his hammering heart slowing slightly. “Okay, I’m going now.” Josh waved at her over the ridge, and her pale upturned face watched him go with a thumbs up. He pulled his backpack back on, beginning to trek back down the trail. “Over,” he said belatedly.

He pulled his cell phone out and swiped it open, keeping an eye on the red x over his signal bars.

“I can’t believe your curse finally reached me, over,” Sam said, her words breathy.

He laughed sarcastically. “Hah hah, sure, it was my curse, and not a certain someone leaning on some rickety old fence, over.”

“Yeah, it sure was,” Sam said, and Josh snorted. “Chris told me all about it, I should have remembered. It always happens when you hang out with someone alone. Over.”

“Okay, that is a gross exaggeration. I have had to spend way too much time with Mike alone, and he’s only broken one whole wrist! If it were real, he should have broken every bone in his body by now.” Then, “Over.”

Her own snort was audible. “It only happens once, as far as I can tell. I don’t normally believe in stuff like that, but you, Josh Washington, are on the fast track to proving me wrong, over.”

Josh sighed, feeling suddenly guilty. If he hadn’t agreed to this, Sam would still be alright. Wouldn’t be waiting at the bottom of some ridge, alone and in pain, while his dumb ass went to get some help. “I’m sorry, Sammy. I kind of thought you were safe from it. We’ve known each other almost as long as I’ve known Chris. I figured if it was going to happen to you, it would have happened by now. Over.”

“It’s not that big a deal, Josh,” she said, soft and way too kind. “I’m sure it’s just coincidence. You’re just particularly unlucky.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” he said to himself.

“Once you get some reception, help will be on the way. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve been in a hiking accident, over.”

Surprised, Josh said, “You, Sam “Bear Grylls” Giddings, in a hiking accident?” And then, “When was that? Before you met Hannah? I don’t remember you mentioning this. Over.”

“No,” There was some grunting on her end, presumably as she moved to get comfortable, and then said, “It was after I met you guys, but we hadn’t hung out much. I’d only hung out with Hannah a few times, and my parents decided to go hiking one weekend during the summer, right before they got divorced.”

Josh tried to think back to when he was 12, when Sam would have been 11, but it was before they’d gotten to know each other very well. He remembers liking Hannah and Beth’s new friend, and deciding they were going to keep her as part of the family, especially after her parents split. She’d spent many nights at the Washington house while her mom and dad worked things out. But he can’t remember much else.

“We went out, on a trail like this one, but after a while they started arguing about something, and they weren’t paying attention. They argued a lot that summer, and I was tired of it, so I was trying to ignore them. I walked ahead of them until I couldn’t hear them anymore, and then after a while I realized what that meant.” Sam’s voice was strained again, like she was in more pain.

“I was scared.” There were definitely tears in her voice now. “I was alone, and so small. I started walking back down the trail, but it started getting dark. I couldn’t hear them, and after a little while I couldn’t even see. I couldn’t remember anything my mom had told me about how to stay safe when hiking. So I just sat down and stayed where I was, like I was in a mall.” She huffed a hoarse little laugh. “I was trying to think of things that wouldn’t scare me, and you know what I thought of?”

“What?” Josh said, though she couldn’t hear him.

“You. I thought about you, and the horror movies you’d teased me and Hannah with. I thought about you talking about being a director, or a producer, and telling me about how movies are made. I tried to think about things like I was in a movie you’d written, and how there’s always a Final Girl. I was the Final Girl, I thought. I was your Final Girl.”

Josh’s face grew warm at her words. His Final Girl.

He could remember his overeager 12 year old self info-dumping horror movie facts on his little sister’s new friend. He’d had no idea she still remembered any of that. That she’d ever even thought about what he’d said until now.

Even though she didn’t say “over,” the walkie talkie went to static for several long seconds, and he said into it, “Well, you know, the definition of Final Girl has kind of changed over the years. It used to be much narrower, with a strict set of guidelines in film analysis. It was a pretty sexist trope. But now it’s applied to a much wider range of characters thanks to the turn away from slasher films in the 90s and growing feminist film criticism and theory.” He had a point, but got kind of distracted, and made an effort to return to it. “What I mean is, you’re better than any sexist film trope. But I’m glad my dumb trivia helped you.” After a moment of silence, he said, “Over.”

The walkie talkies were static for a while, and then Sam said, a laugh in her voice, “That was so nerdy and sweet, Josh. You’re doing it now, too. I’m scared because I’m hurt and I’m alone, but listening to you talk about movie stuff takes my mind off of it. I know I’m gonna be okay, because you’re going to get help, and I can hear your voice. Over.”

“You know,” he covered his face in embarrassment, but took the plunge anyways. “I’d do whatever it takes for you, Sam. I’m sorry I got you into this situation, but I’m getting you out of it. Whatever you need, I’m here. You’ll always be my Final Girl.”

He let the static speak for him and walked on, both of them silent, until finally, blessedly, the red x on his phone was replaced by a single bar.

“Got reception, Sammy! Over!”

She sent him a cheer as he dialed 911.

-

Chris, Ashley, and Matt joined them at the hospital when they made it back to civilization, as well as Sam’s mom. The others couldn't make it, but Josh certainly wished Chris had been busy too when he plopped into a plastic waiting room chair next to him, nudged him ruthlessly in the ribs, and said, “So, your curse finally got Sam.”

“Shut up.” Josh shoved Chris back.

They waited for Sam to hobble out on crutches, a neon green cast around one calf, and Josh was the first to reach her. As soon as he did, though, they stared at each other awkwardly until the rest of their friends caught up, crowding around her and asking how she was doing. Her mom waited patiently behind Sam as they checked on her, before finally waving them away and telling them she needed to go home and rest.

Josh watched her go, and she caught his eye over her shoulder and smiled.

-

He laid in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling, when he remembered he forgot to take his medication. Jolting upright, he stagger on sore legs to the backpack he threw on the floor as soon as he got in, and popped two pills dry. Then he caught sight of his phone on the floor next to the bag, lit with a new message.

It was from Sam, and all it said was, “Come outside.” He walked over to the window, looked out, and down on his front lawn, supported by crutches and looking searchingly at the ground, was Sam.

He was down the stairs before his mind could catch up with him, and when he opened the front door, Sam was leaning over, struggling to hold her crutches and pick something up from the ground without bending her leg too much.

“Sam?”

She glanced up at her name, then nearly fell as she lost her balance. Josh started forward, but she caught herself before he could even get close, and dropped a handful of rocks onto the sidewalk.

“About time,” she said, straightening up and meeting him halfway down the sidewalk.

“What are you doing with my rocks?” Josh said teasingly. It was dark out, streetlights dotting the neighborhood and the sound of crickets chirping restlessly. His porch light cast their shadows sharp and tall out onto the empty street.

“Well, I sent you a message but you never came out, so I figured you didn’t have your phone on you. So, I was just going to get your attention.” Sam’s smile was sugar sweet.

“Uh-huh. By throwing rocks at my window. What is this, the eighties?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me, Mr. Director? It’s your movie. I’m just the Final Girl.”

“I think you’re mixing your genres there, Sam. You know, maybe you’re the one with a curse. Can’t believe you’ve been in two hiking accidents. Maybe you should change your ways? Eat some meat, forsake nature, become a couch potato like Chris.”

“There is no way that’s happening, even if I have 100 more hiking accidents,” she said, knocking at one of his feet with her crutches.

”Ah, well. I’ll get you yet, Giddings.” Josh moved in close, and Sam allowed him to take one of her wrists from her crutch, and hold her hand between his. “What were you going to tell me? Up on the ridge?”

She froze at his question, the smile sliding off her face, and then took a deep breath, seeming to prepare herself.

“Josh. When I’m scared, thinking about you helps me through it. When something good happens, I want to tell you first. When I’m lonely, I think about you. About being with you.” She turned her hand in his, palm up, and twined their fingers together.

His palms, curse his disease, were sweaty and clammy, but she just squeezed his hand.

“You make me laugh, and I like hearing you talk about how feminist film theory has changed sexist tropes. When I’m with you, you make me feel so good and happy. I feel like we have a connection. So, Josh Washington. Here’s what I was going to say before your curse so cruelly flung me me from a cliff.”

“Oh, come on. It’s was 10 feet, max.” Josh’s eyes were burning, and he blinked, trying to clear them, and smiled at their dumb jokes.

“I love you. And I think I’ve loved you ever since I was lost in the woods, and imagined the movie you would have written to keep me safe.” She was getting choked up now too, and Josh leaned in so their noses were brushing, foreheads resting against each other.

They smiled, and laughed at their wet eyes and trembling lips.

“Sam,” he started, but his heart was swelling so much, too much for proper words, so he did the only thing he could to make his own feelings clear.

Josh closed the distance, tilting his head and tasting the salt on her lips as he sealed them in a kiss. It was minty, like her shampoo, and so sweet. He pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth, teasing, and Sam broke the kiss with a laugh.

“Sam,” he said breathlessly. “Sam, Sam, Sam. I love when you show me your vegan recipes, how you talk about nature, your passion for helping people, and how you’re so patient with me. I’d do anything for you. I’ll write this story any way you want. Because I love you, too.”

Sam leaned on him fully, letting her crutches clatter to the ground. Her arms wound around his back, and she was warm and strong in his arms. She felt like safety, like home. “Any way I want?”

“Any way you want.” Josh grinned. “You’re my Final Girl, Sam.”


End file.
